My First Adventures In Daejeon

For the three days that I have been here, I have gotten to go out and experience different parts of Daejeon! They have all been really neat and fun to go to.

The first place that I went was out in Techno Valley with my Aunt. We went to Lotte Mart to buy some snacks and storage for my room. Lotte Mart is like the Korean version of Walmart, and it is huge! It had 4 stories, as well as multiple stories for the parking garages. In order to get to the different floors, you take these ramps that are like escalators, but your shopping carts magnetize to them so that you can easily go up and down the building.

We also went to multiple smaller shops, like Etude House, Olive Young, and CNA. I did not purchase anything in Etude House because I don’t wear makeup 😅 CNA was an adorably cute store; I wanted to buy everything! They had stationary, hair accessories, stuffed animals, K-Pop merchandise, and tons of random cute things.

We then went out to dinner with one of my Aunt’s friends at a restaurant called New York Bueok. It was delicious. My Aunt says that it’s one of the best places for American food here, because the food actually tastes American and isn’t coated in sugar. I had a cheeseburger and fries, and they were some of the best that I have ever had! My Aunt says that she likes their burgers even more then Red Robin’s, so that should let you know how good it is.

The next day, I decided to trek into town by myself and get an idea of where everything was and what all I was able to do. My Aunt walked me out of the building and showed me the direction that I was going before letting me loose. Unfortunately, this adventure did not go the way I had planned 😅 I quickly got lost, tired, and hot. I also felt very intimidated because Korean buildings are huge! They tower above you and they are scattered in the weirdest formations. They give me the heebie-jeebies. Fortunately, I remembered the way that I came and I was able to return home. I was only out for about an hour.

Later that night, my Aunt and I took a taxi to Eunhaeng-Dong, which is more of what I expected to see when coming to Korea. There were tons of little shops and it was more like a city. Around where we walked, there was a giant structure overhead known as the Sky Walk, and at night, it lights up like a giant TV screen and displays cameras or commercials on it. It was very cool!

We also went into the underground mall that is located in Eunhaeng-Dong, and it is very, very big. Stall after stall after stall, and most of them sell similar things! There was clothing, phone cases and accessories, shoes, wigs, makeup, jewelry, you name it! A lot of the clothes were very cheap, so if you’re looking for cheap clothes with decent quality, that’s probably the place to go.

Lastly, we went to get Bubble Tea and went to a cute store called Art Box and a clothing store called Uniqlo. I got Chocolate Bubble Tea with Chocolate Foam. I asked for no ice and bubbles, and my aunt asked for ice and no bubbles. Sadly, our orders got mixed up and she got the bubbles, and I got some ice. I also decided that thick, chocolate bubble tea is not my style.

Art Box was one of the cutest stores ever! The picture above is a picture of me with one of their characters. I absolutely love penguins, and I jumped at the opportunity for a picture with him! They also have large seals and bears for you to take pictures with. This store has everything you could ever need in your life (besides food). Clothes, accessories, jewelry, stationary, office accessories, home accessories, back to school supplies, makeup, perfume, candles, stuffed toys, you name it! You can find everything there. I ended up buying a dinosaur night light for my bedroom since I love dinosaurs and am deathly afraid of the dark.

All of the T-Shirts that I brought to Korea with me were dark colors, and I wanted a lighter one, so we went into Uniqlo to find one. I found an adorable white one with Pokémon all over it. I am currently wearing it as I’m writing this. It’s really nice quality, and was only $5! I don’t like spending money, so the cheaper things are, the better.

And now, as I am writing this, my Aunt and I are at a Starbucks in Techno Valley. She had work to plan for and I didn’t want to be home all day, so we came out! I got the berry juice/tea and the chocolate filled croissant. They are both great! The Starbucks souvenirs here are also very cute.

So far, I have greatly enjoyed my time here. It is a very interesting country with beautiful people and a beautiful language. It’s only been 3 days, so I cannot wait to see what the rest of my time here holds!